What ghetto criteria did we use?

In order to rank the most ghetto places in Kansas, we had to determine what criteria defines a ghetto city or neighborhood.

Since a ghetto is defined as a poor area, we used income levels, crime and education levels as a guide to determine where the most broke citizens of a state live.

Additionally, the staples of inner city life include cheap and discounted retail outlets.

We started by making a list of cities with populations over 2,000 based on the 2014 American Community Survey. That left us with 92 cities in Kansas to measure.

We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible. Using Yelp and Area Vibes, this is the criteria we used:

Household income levels

High school graduation rates

Number of convenience stores

Number of drug stores

Number of discount stores

Crime

Note: For the sake of getting reliable numbers, we counted places within a city’s border, as well as within a short driving distance.

All of these results are listed in a per capita basis. Meaning number of stores per person in a state. Additionally, high school graduation rates are determined by looking at the total number of people who live in a city, not the current graduation rate of an area’s high schools.

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1. Coffeyville

When you look at the unbiased data, Coffeyville is the most ghetto city in Kansas. Here’s why.

First off, crime is really high here, especially for Kansas. It’s the 4th most dangerous place in the state. As it stands, you have a 1 in 90 chance of being a victim of a violent crime (attacked or raped) for every year you spend here. And in terms of property crimes, there were more than 500 robberies here in 2014.

For a city under 10,000 in Kansas, that’s a lot. To put things into perspective, in Overland Park, there were 2,100 robberies. But that city is 18 times larger.

Coffeyville residents earn about $31,000 a year as a family, which is the 4th lowest number in the state. The government says a family of 4 needs about $25,000 a year to stay out of poverty. Even in Kansas, $31,000 a year is small potatoes.

Almost a quarter of the population of Coffeyville doesn’t have a high school education. That’s the 9th highest rate in the state, so Coffeyville has a long-term problem on its hands.

2. Kansas City

KCKS, unfortunately, is a pretty ghetto place in large areas when you look at the unbiased data. Crime is the 8th worst in the state – where long-term residents have a 1 in 20 chance of being victimized by a property crime every year. There were also 25 murders in KC in 2014.

Incomes are the 18th lowest ($37,000 a year for a family), and the lack of education in Kansas City is even higher than in Coffeyville – at 27%.

While there are large areas of Kansas City that are great, the fact is there are other ghetto areas that are as big as tiny cities in the state.

3. Arkansas City

Arkansas City’s population is the 8th dumbest in the state, when you measure the high drop out rate. That trickles down to high crime (you have a 1 in 25 chance of being the victim of a property crime if you lived there for a year) and poor incomes, making this smallish city in the southern part of the state technically ghetto.

5. Topeka

The data on Kansas is skewed by the fact that there are large city centers, and decent-sized cities spread out across the state.

Topeka has a higher crime rate than Kansas City does. While there were ‘only’ six murders here in 2014, your chances of being robbed are higher in Topeka. There are also a far higher number of discount stores in Topeka than in other large cities in Kansas.

Sociologists have indicated that discount stores are a staple of inner city life.

7. Liberal

In Liberal, the income levels and crime aren’t horrible, but they’re definitely above average. The big issue in this teeny place on Route 54 along the Oklahoma border is the high dropout rate. More than 4 in 10 residents is without a high school degree. That’s by far the highest in the state, and that’s going to set Liberal back for years.

8. Wichita

Crime is highest in Wichita of all of the major cities we mentioned above. However, Incomes are average ($46,000 a year), and only 18% of the population doesn’t have a high school degree. That’s actually not too shabby.

But the fact remains, there are large pockets in Wichita that are ghetto.

9. Fort Scott

Source: Public Domain

Income: 8th lowestDrop out rate: 21%Crime: 15th worst

Fort Scott ranks in the bottom 15 in every category. It’s fairly dangerous (you have a 1 in 21 chance of being the victim of a property crime), and nearly a quarter of the people doesn’t have a GED even by the age of 25.

10. Columbus

Source: Public Domain

Income: 19th lowestDrop out rate: 29%Crime: Above average

Columbus isn’t really dangerous, but it’s a tick above average. Nearly 3 in 10 residents is uneducated, and a large number of this teeny city struggle to make ends meet every month.

Other Highlights From The Study

Ghetto, ghetto everywhere: There really isn’t a ‘center’ for a ghetto location in Kansas. Almost all of the cities to make the top 10 are spread out in different areas of the state…The most dangerous place in Kansas is actually tiny Parsons , located in Labette County along Route 59…The city of Mission has the highest concentration of convenience and drug stores in the state, per capita. However, education and income levels are about average.

Not ghetto at all: The following are the least ghetto areas in the Sunflower State: Mission Hills, Fairway, Rose Hill, Leawood, Prairie Village.

There You Have It

If you’re measuring the locations in Kansas where there are a high number of poor and uneducated residents, and where there are a high number of discounted shopping stores, this is an accurate list.

3 thoughts on “These Are The 10 Most Ghetto Cities In Kansas For 2018”

Damn shame! Back in the 70s, Forrest City was truly a good place. My parents died and I had to go back in 2014 to sell a home that had been in our family since the early 40’s….. Damn nice home and I barely got 60 K for it. Where I live now, I’m sure I could’ve gotten 300K I live now, Smdh

Current stats for El Dorado High School:
Graduation Rate: 77.1%
Dropout Rate: 2.0%
Students Per Teacher: 14.0
Enrolled Students in district: 4,643
Enrolled students in El Dorado High School: 1,368
Ranks 204 out of 278 high schools in Arkansas.
Therefore, I call bull on your “scientific” analysis.